Hazard line oddity highlights wild start

AUSTIN, TEXAS » Golf’s most fickle tournament delivered its usual dose of oddities Wednesday in the Dell Technologies Match Play, including the fortunes of Maverick Mcnealy.

The last man to get in the 64-man field, he was the first to close out his match.

Mcnealy, who only got into his first World Golf Championship when Sam Burns decided to withdraw after his victory Sunday at Innisbrook, tied for the third-shortest match in tournament history with an 8-and-6 rout over Riviera winner Joaquin Niemann.

“I was home last week, really hoping I’d get the chance to play, preparing like I was going to get a chance to play,” Mcnealy said. “And had a nice round today, for sure.”

He was 4 under through seven holes and already 5 up against Niemann, and McNealy closed him out on the 12th hole when the Chilean conceded his 18-foot birdie putt.

It technically wasn’t the shortest match of the day. No one had an easier time than Corey Conners, who played only two holes when Paul Casey had back spasms and conceded the match. Casey remained in the Match Play, hopeful of playing his next two matches.

Six of the top eight seeds won their first match, while Patrick Cantlay earned a halve against Keith Mitchell when both missed birdie putts in the 10-foot range on the final hole. The exception was Justin Thomas, who made only one birdie after the opening hole and lost, 3 and 2, to Luke List, who had a 1-5 record in this tournament.

Wins and losses were secondary to the bizarre circumstances of a sprinkler head.

Thomas Pieters of Belgium hit a long pitch that ran down the slope of the 13th green and was headed for the water when it settled in a sprinkler head. That looked like a good break except that his ball was touching the red paint of the hazard line, so no relief was given.

All he could do was whack at with a sand wedge in frustration — Tom Hoge already had made a birdie — though it had a happy ending when Pieters won the match.

An hour later, Bryson DeChambeau was in the spot — and he was given a free drop.

A change in the ruling can only happen in this format because it’s not players against the entire field, rather players going headto-head. Each match is its own tournament.

Chief referee Gary Young said the red paint is supposed to go around the sprinklers. In this case, it touched the side. Once officials realized the problem, they went to redo the paint. He said the crew was on its way when Dechambeau’s chip landed in the same sprinkler hole.

The official was instructed to provide relief.